ICANN is actively seeking expressions of
interest from individuals who would like to volunteer to serve as members
of ICANN's Membership Implementation Task Force.

What is the Membership Implementation Task Force?
What will it do?

The Membership Implementation Task Force will play a key role in ICANN's
effort to create a broad, diverse, and globally representative At Large
Membership, through which 9 of ICANN's 19 Directors will be elected.

The Membership Implementation Task Force was chartered by the ICANN Board
at its August and November meetings. The Board charged the Membership
Implementation Task Force with the following responsibilities:

"RESOLVED [99.144], that the President and CEO is directed to
convene a Membership Implementation Task Force, which shall generate
and implement strategies for outreach and recruitment of a broad and
numerous membership that is globally representative of the Internet
user community; design effective membership authentication and online
election procedures; and undertake such other membership implementation
responsibilities as may be assigned to it by the Board or the President."

The Membership Implementation Task Force is thus intended to be a body
of active and committed "do-ers" who will work to make the goal
of a broad, diverse, and globally representative At Large Membership a
reality. More specifically, its responsibilities will include the following:

planning for independent oversight of the initial At Large Council
election; and

proposing a permanent funding mechanism for the At Large Membership.

How will the Membership Implementation Task Force
do its work?

As with most ICANN bodies, the bulk of the Membership Implementation
Task Force's work will be done through the Internet, via email and the
web. Periodic teleconferences may be necessary as well.

The Membership Implementation Task Force will have a chair, and will
also include a number of small, narrowly-focused task groups, such as
task groups on voting systems, election oversight, and outreach to specific
regions. The Membership Implementation Task Force will have staff support
from ICANN's Membership Project Manager.

I'm interested! How do I submit my statement of interest?

Expressions of interest (and any questions) should be sent to Andrew
McLaughlin <mclaughlin@icann.org>. Statements need not be longer
than 100 words, and should include information about your professional
background and the contribution you will make toward the work of the Membership
Implementation Task Force.

The deadline for expressions of interest is December 21, 1999.

Background on ICANN At Large Membership

For nearly a year, ICANN has been working hard to design and implement
an At Large Membership structure through which the 9 At Large Directors
on the ICANN Board will be elected by the diverse members of the global
Internet community. The following paragraphs outline the history of the
effort, and sketch the current implementation plan.

Background. In July, 1997, the Clinton Administration published
an executive order calling for privatization of the Internet Domain Name
System (DNS) and began an open and consultative policy development process
which lead to the publication of a document entitled "Management of Internet
Names and Addresses," commonly known as the White
Paper, in June, 1998. The White Paper stated the desire of the U.S.
Government that a private, non-profit corporation be formed to assume
responsibility for the Domain Name and IP addressing systems and certain
related functions, and called for proposals to be submitted to accomplish
this goal.

White Paper Position on Representation in new DNS Corporation.
With respect to representation, the White Paper stated,

"The new corporation should operate as a private entity for the benefit
of the Internet community as a whole. The development of sound, fair,
and widely accepted policies for the management of DNS will depend on
input from the broad and growing community of Internet users. Management
structures should reflect the functional and geographic diversity of
the Internet and its users. Mechanisms should be established to ensure
international participation in decision making."

Speaking further to actions to be taken by the Board of Directors of
the new corporation, the White Paper proposed that the entity's organizational
documents:

"2) direct the Interim Board to establish a system for electing a Board
of Directors for the new corporation that insures that the new corporation's
Board of Directors reflects the geographical and functional diversity
of the Internet, and is sufficiently flexible to permit evolution to
reflect changes in the constituency of Internet stakeholders. Nominations
to the Board of Directors should preserve, as much as possible, the
tradition of bottom-up governance of the Internet, and Board Members
should be elected from membership or other associations open to all
or through other mechanisms that ensure broad representation and participation
in the election process."

Department of Commerce Requirement concerning ICANN Membership.
Subsequently, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) recognized ICANN --
the corporation proposed by Dr. Jon Postel in September, 1998 -- in a
Memorandum
of Understanding/Joint Project Agreement dated November 25, 1998.
With regard to membership, the MOU specified that ICANN and DOC would,
"8. Collaborate on the design, development, and testing of appropriate
membership mechanisms that foster accountability to and representation
of the global and functional diversity of the Internet and its users,
within the structure of the private-sector DNS management organization."

ICANN Membership Advisory Committee. The ICANN Bylaws provide
for four organizational units having membership attributes. Three of the
units are named "Supporting Organizations" (SO) and are designed to provide
specific mechanisms for the participation of business and technical interests
in the policy development and consensus mechanisms of ICANN. The fourth
is an At Large Membership designed to ensure accountability and adequate
representation, on a worldwide basis, of the interests of all Internet
users. Each SO names three ICANN Directors, while the At Large membership
names nine, for a total of eighteen elected Directors and an ex officio
voting Chief Executive Officer. Consistent with both Internet tradition
and the guidance of the White Paper, the ICANN Board has worked closely
with the Internet community to support bottom-up and self-organizing efforts
for all four of its membership entities. All three SOs are now operational,
and all three have named their Directors to the ICANN Board.

Seeking advice from the community on the complex issues associated with
creation of an At Large membership, ICANN created a Membership
Advisory Committee (MAC) in January, 1999, and asked for its recommendations
on a range of membership policy and procedural issues. To assist the MAC
with its work, ICANN commissioned a study
by Harvard Law School's Berkman
Center for Internet & Society. The MAC's interim report was given
to the Board at its meeting in Singapore in March, 1999 and a final
report and commentary was delivered at its meeting in Berlin, in May,
1999.

ICANN Board Actions to Create At Large Membership. By resolution
at its Berlin meeting, the ICANN Board asked
staff to review the Membership Advisory Committee (MAC) report
and commentary and make recommendations to the Board, for consideration
at its Santiago, Chile, meeting in August, 1999, on an implementation
plan that was responsive to the Mac's suggestions.

Also in Berlin, the Board adopted
four general principles to guide the creation of an At Large membership
for ICANN:

1. "Members" should be individuals, and only "members" should vote
for At Large Directors.

2. The election process for At Large Directors should take place in
stages, to allow for adjustments in the process based on experience.

3. At Large Directors should be geographically diverse and broadly
representative of the Internet user community.

4. The costs of At Large membership should be borne by the At Large
members.

Two staff reports on At Large membership
were prepared for the Santiago meeting, one dealing with analysis and
recommendations on an implementation plan, and the other dealing with
legal questions concerning membership provisions in California nonprofit
corporation statutes.

In addition, to give some sustainable momentum to the planning and implementation
of a large and globally diverse membership, the ICANN Board authorized
the creation of a Membership Implementation Task Force, whose members
will initially focus on membership outreach and recruitment.

ICANN At Large Membership Structure. After considering a range
of issues affecting structure, the ICANN Directors have adopted an indirect
representation mechanism in which an At Large Membership of a minimum
size of 5000 individuals will elect an At Large Council composed of up
to eighteen members. The At Large Council will in turn select nine individuals
to become the At Large Directors of ICANN. Up to ten members of the At
Large Council will be elected from each of the five geographic regions
into which ICANN is currently divided, with no two regional members coming
from the same country. The remaining (up to) eight members will be elected
from a single global pool of candidates, with no restrictions on geographic
origin.

Balancing a desire to encourage wide participation in ICANN membership
on a worldwide basis with the need to protect against election fraud,
the minimum requirements for an individual to become an At Large member
will be (a) completion of an online membership application, including
a statement of a commitment to participate in ICANN's activities; (b)
a working Internet email address; and (c) a single physical residence
verified by a postal mail address.

At Large Membership Implementation. The initial appointed At Large
Directors of ICANN wish to proceed expeditiously with implementation of
the At Large membership so that their elected successors may take office
as soon as possible. However, translation of the membership structure
that has been adopted by the Board into detailed plans and procedures
that can operate faultlessly in a worldwide, interactive Internet environment
requires significant staff and technical resources.

The membership implementation plan, which is being developed under the
direction of interim President/CEO Mike Roberts, has six program elements,
which will proceed in a parallel but coordinated manner.

(1) Identify a funding source sufficient to meet the minimum expenditure
requirements of the initial phase of the At Large membership program.
In early November, the Markle Foundation announced a commitment of $200,000
to fund the initial launch of ICANN's At Large Membership program. A
copy of ICANN's application to the Markle Foundation, which outlines
the specific implementation and outreach purposes to which the funds
will be devoted, can be found here.

(2) Engage staff to manage and implement the program for at least the
next six months. A membership program manager position has been defined
and created. A search for qualified applicants is currently underway.
The job posting can be found here.

(3) Complete plans for the creation of an At Large membership component
of ICANN. The membership program manager will be responsible for development
of detailed plans, resource requirements and timing. The plan will be
based on previous work by the MAC and ICANN staff, Board membership
resolutions, and assistance from the new Membership Implementation Task
Force.

(4) Obtain necessary computer and network resources to support the
membership database and applications. The membership database and online
server will be located at the ICANN administrative headquarters in Marina
del Rey, California, using ICANN computer facilities and under the supervision
of ICANN technical staff. Design, development, installation and testing
of membership software and hardware will be contracted to a qualified
technical services firm.

(5) Provide administrative and logistic support for the new Membership
Implementation Task Force. The membership program manager will be primary
liaison to the task force, whose intended functions include carrying
out a worldwide outreach program to recruit At Large members, reviewing
specifications for membership computer programs, assisting with organization
of the At Large Council, planning for independent oversight of the initial
At Large Council election, and proposing a permanent funding mechanism
for the At Large Membership.

(6) Specify, develop and test necessary processes and procedures and
hold the first At Large Council election. Depending on progress toward
meeting the minimum At Large membership threshold requirement of 5000
individual members, the ICANN Board is expected to approve election
procedures and set a date for the first election of members of the At
Large Council at its first meeting in the year 2000, currently expected
to be the first week in March. Prior to approving the election date,
the membership staff, working with the task force, will have completed
and tested the required computer programs and related fraud protection
provisions of the election procedures.

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